The Hell Is Real derby is a rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in Ohio: the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati. Under current MLS regular season scheduling, the series occurs twice per season as both teams are members of the Eastern Conference. The teams first met in 2017 in the U.S. Open Cup before Cincinnati joined MLS in 2019.

Hell Is Real takes its name from a Christian highway billboard located on Interstate 71 between Columbus and Cincinnati. The two team's MLS Next Pro affiliates, the Columbus Crew 2 and FC Cincinnati 2, parody Hell Is Real for their matches and use the name Heck is Plausible.

Background

FC Cincinnati was founded in 2015 as a United Soccer League club. After three seasons in the second-division league, Cincinnati moved to MLS in 2019 and joined the Columbus Crew, who had been a league member since their inaugural season in 1996. The Ohio clubs met for the first time with lower-league Cincinnati winning 1–0 in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup fourth round.

In October 2017, Columbus owner Anthony Precourt threatened to move the team to Austin, Texas, putting the prospect of an MLS rivalry between the two Ohio teams in jeopardy. Precourt's proposed relocation sparked outrage in the American soccer community, creating the #SaveTheCrew movement. After a year of support by fans, rival teams, local businesses, and politicians, the Crew committed to staying in Columbus in November 2018, when the Haslam family (owners of the NFL's Cleveland Browns, which had been the subject of a controversial relocation in the 1990s) purchased the club.

History

The two teams met for the first time in the fourth round of the 2017 U.S. Open Cup, while FC Cincinnati was still a member of the United Soccer League. Cincinnati won the match 1–0 on a goal from Djiby, knocking Columbus out of the tournament and advancing to the quarterfinals.

On August 10, 2019, the two sides played against each other in MLS league play for the first time, ending in a 2–2 draw at Mapfre Stadium. Columbus earned their first win of the series in that season's reverse fixture with a 3–1 victory. The highest-scoring match came in 2021, when the Crew pulled off a late comeback at their new Lower.com Field; holding a 2–1 lead in the 75th minute, FC Cincinnati surrendered two late goals to lose 3–2.

The first MLS Cup Playoffs match between the two teams took place in the Eastern Conference Final on December 2, 2023. The match was hosted by FC Cincinnati and resulted in a 3–2 victory for the Columbus Crew after FC Cincinnati led 2–0 in the first half but conceded two goals in the second half. The Crew went on to score the winning goal in the 25th minute of extra time, enabling them to win the MLS Cup the following week.

Name

The rivalry's name was created by fans of both teams in 2017, prior to the first competitive meeting in the U.S. Open Cup. It is derived from a religious sign that reads "HELL IS REAL" located on Interstate 71, the highway that connects Columbus and Cincinnati–a distance of . The sign was installed in 2004 on a local farm in Chenoweth by a Kentucky developer who had installed similar religious signs in other states.

The name of the rivalry between the clubs’ MLS Next Pro affiliates, Columbus Crew 2 and FC Cincinnati 2, “Heck is Plausible” is derived from this name.

Statistics Match

Competitions Matches CLB wins CLB goals Draws CIN wins CIN goals MLS regular season 167336319 U.S. Open Cup 100011 MLS Cup playoffs 428025 Total 219416625

Honors

HonorColumbus CrewFC CincinnatiTotalMLS Cup303Supporters' Shield314U.S. Open Cup101Campeones Cup101Leagues Cup101Overall9110

Match results

SeasonDateCompetitionStadiumHome teamResultAway teamAttendanceSeries (W–L–T)Ref2017June 14U.S. Open CupNippert StadiumFC Cincinnati1–0Columbus Crew SC30,160CIN 1–0–02019August 10MLSMapfre StadiumColumbus Crew SC2–2FC Cincinnati20,865CIN 1–0–1August 25Nippert StadiumFC Cincinnati1–3Columbus Crew SC30,611Tied 1–1–12020July 11MLS is Back‡ESPN Sports Complex FC Cincinnati0–4Columbus Crew SC0†CLB 2–1–1August 29MLSNippert StadiumFC Cincinnati0–0Columbus Crew SC0†CLB 2–1–2September 6Mapfre StadiumColumbus Crew SC3–0FC Cincinnati1,500†CLB 3–1–2October 14Nippert StadiumFC Cincinnati2–1Columbus Crew SC0†CLB 3–2–22021July 9MLSTQL StadiumFC Cincinnati2–2Columbus Crew25,701CLB 3–2–3August 27Lower.com FieldColumbus Crew3–2FC Cincinnati19,949CLB 4–2–32022July 17MLSLower.com FieldColumbus Crew2–0FC Cincinnati20,741CLB 5–2–3August 27TQL StadiumFC Cincinnati2–2Columbus Crew25,037CLB 5–2–42023May 20MLSTQL StadiumFC Cincinnati3–2Columbus Crew25,513CLB 5–3–4August 20Lower.com FieldColumbus Crew3–0FC Cincinnati20,730CLB 6–3–4December 2MLS Cup PlayoffsTQL StadiumFC Cincinnati2–3 Columbus Crew25,513CLB 7–3–42024May 11MLSLower.com FieldColumbus Crew1–2FC Cincinnati20,900CLB 7–4–4September 14TQL StadiumFC Cincinnati0–0Columbus Crew25,513CLB 7–4–52025May 17MLSLower.com FieldColumbus Crew1–1 FC Cincinnati 20,363CLB 7–4–6July 12TQL StadiumFC Cincinnati2–4Columbus Crew25,513CLB 8–4–6October 27MLS Cup PlayoffsTQL StadiumFC Cincinnati1–0Columbus Crew23,371CLB 8–5–6November 2Lower.com FieldColumbus Crew4–0FC Cincinnati19,506CLB 9–5–6November 8TQL StadiumFC Cincinnati2–1Columbus Crew25,513CLB 9–6–62026 July 25 MLS ScottsMiracle-Gro Field Columbus Crew 2–1 FC Cincinnati 20,307 CLB 10–6–6 October 18 TQL Stadium FC Cincinnati – Columbus Crew CLB W–L–T

† Matches played behind closed doors or reduced capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

‡ Although the match was part of the MLS is Back Tournament, group stage matches count toward regular season MLS statistics.

Eastern Conference standings finishes

P.2019202020212022202320242025112223333455677889910101112121314141415 • Total: Columbus with 4 higher finishes, FC Cincinnati with 3.

Top goalscorers

Pos.NameTeamGoals1 Gyasi ZardesColumbus Crew72 Luciano AcostaFC Cincinnati5 Lucas ZelarayánColumbus Crew4 Maximilian ArfstenColumbus Crew3 Miguel Berry Diego Rossi Jacen Russell-Rowe Pedro Santos9 Cucho HernándezColumbus Crew2 BrennerFC Cincinnati Kévin Denkey Brandon Vazquez

Own goals Alvas Powell (December 2, 2023) Miles Robinson (July 12, 2025)

Players who played for both clubs PlayerColumbus career spanCincinnati career span Cristian Martínez2016–20182017 Kekuta Manneh20172019–2020 Derrick Etienne2020–20222019 Fanendo Adi20202018–2019 Fatai Alashe20202018–2020 Saad Abdul-Salaam20212020 Gustavo Vallecilla20232021–2022 Kei Kamara2006–20072015–20162025

See also MLS rivalry cups

References